http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382395272&sr=8-1&keywords=chessex+map
Is the cheapest solution. You won't generally need to redraw that many maps in 1 session. I would only draw out the ones where positioning and terrain elements can really impact the outcome.
Another solution is http://www.amazon.com/Adams-Easel-Inches-2-Pack-EP927342/dp/B0038JE9KM/ref= sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382395375&sr=8-1&keywords=1+inch+grid+paper , which will be pricier over time, but can save you time, and pre-draw more maps.
I use roll20.net, and we play online. But for Rise of the Runelords there are a lot of good pre rendered maps you can print out, if you do a quick search, or check the AP forum under resources.
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There's several schools of thought on maps.
Some DMs don't provide maps at all, allowing players to draw their own maps (however inaccurate they end up being). This can allow for better immersion since they have to use their imagination.. and just like if they were mapping it out (unskilled) they'd make mistakes at it. However, this requires you to give them lots of detail and often repeat details to make sure everything is clear.
Some DMs don't provide maps but will break out minis and a grid sheet only when a fight starts to give a better representation of the fight. This provides tactical fighting then if you just left it up to their imagination and telling them if they can do something or not if you don't go the minis & grid route.
And lastly, some DMs go all out providing the visual aids to help all situations. You'll have to come up with your own "fog of war" to determine what you want the players to see vs what you want their characters to see. Whether it's just by telling them what their characters don't see (but the players see the whole map minus the minis not part of the encounter yet) or just covering up parts of the map their character don't see, either method works.
I prefer no maps or minis when I'm DMing. But will break out some dice and use them as rough visuals if there's just too much confusion. As a player I think I prefer minis but sometimes I feel like we're meta gaming when we do that.
Can be time-consuming, yes, but doesn't need to be expensive.
For battle maps I generally draw the sites on overhead projector transparencies or similar (I've some A3 clear plastic sheets) and lay them over the blank flip-mat as needed. (And clean them off for re-use when they're finished with.)
For other maps, if they're ok for the players to see, you can hand out a photocopy (limited photocopying for personal use is usually ok), otherwise perhaps trace over the obvious elements.
I made the mistake of trying to buy all the maps I could find.....
DON'T DO IT.
Ari Kanen linked the chessex grid map I got recently and that's basically all i will need as far as maps. Its nice to have some universal maps like a forest map or someghing but aren't needed.
I used to gra. Some blue construction paper and lay it over the map, starting from the exit to beginning by overlapping. Its really hard not to metagame when u the player know the exit. Now I just use the chessex for drawing out each room at a time. To keep it fast, I only draw the actual outline of the room and only if there's someyhing important in it, otherwise I describing the room to the players.
Granted I usually only draw maps for dungeon whereas towns and such is just theatrical. I mainly do the dungeons because the players get a sense how deep or whatnot they are in the dungeon and I find that with minis, battle is easier to project.
Also I wouldn't spend money on minis either and instead invest into pawns. Muxh much cheaper and so much kore bang for ur buck.
I've used dry erase boards and battle mats, graph paper, heroquest plastic terrain and many other solutions. For ease of use and cost effectiveness use paper; plain, white filler paper. Throw it on the table and start drawing.
They don't have to be great maps (unless you're looking for immersion) they just have to be understood by your players. Just a white piece of paper with a rough sketch of the battle area and a bunch of dice on it to represent things is enough to map out a fight.
At the other end of the spectrum you've got homemade terrain. If you want full, 3d immersion in your gameworld go get a lot of Styrofoam and dental plaster. Also grab some molds; I prefer the Hirst Arts molds but look around and see what appeals. Then start working.
Cut and shape the Styrofoam into rough forms like hills, plains, gullies and such. Add some different colors and flocking for stone, grass or lava, paint in waterways and perhaps even embed "rubble" or other terrain-specific detritus for non-dungeon or irregularly shaped space.
With the molds mix up a batch of plaster and fill em. Then after they've dried and you've extracted the finished product sand, glue and paint them to make 3d dungeon tiles and set pieces. This will also produce walls, archways and all kinds of décor. Make it strong enough and you can stack multiple levels on top of one another.
Normally, I use flip chart paper, which comes in convenient 1"-squares.
However, last session, I used a mini beamer and a tablet and projected the maps for kingmaker #3 directly onto the table. I used a painting app that allowed to make several layers. I edited the maps to hide all the numbers and secret doors, then I put a black layer over the map. During play, I erased the black areas where the characters entered. It looked quite good, and was well-received from my players.
But... it was quite a time consuming (and not very stable) setup, so I will repeat it only when the maps are really interesting.
I'd really like to get one of those interactive tabletops that is a computer touch screen that renders terrain and opponents, etc. It even holds the details of your character build in a chip in the base of your character. I forget the name of the company that made it, but its super expensive...like $20,000. But, man would that be awesome.
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I bought a roll of self-adhesive plastic film (the kind for backing books), which came with a 20mm square grid on the backing paper. It's a very faint grid, but just enough to see by, and the plastic is able to be written on with dry-erase pens.
20mm squares are smaller than the 1-inch grid normally used in battlemats, but we're used to it, and since we all had Warhammer figures, that's the standard base size of a human, and no-one cares if a creature with a 25mm base overlaps a bit.
This method has seen us well through two APs, and several smaller games, though we've had to get another one or two rolls, to replace one that got too battered and creased. We could probably have made one £5 roll last for years if we were more careful with it. There's enough of it that we sometimes forget to erase and just roll out another two feet, which means we keep finding old sites when we go back looking for a clean piece.
For anyone who has either a projector or a sufficiently large screen (use your big TV if possible) I strongly recommend using your virtual table top software of choice for battle maps. It'll look better than anything you can draw on an erasable battle mat, won't require any extra purchases, and many of them have wonderful features like line-of-sight, illumination, effect radius tools, aura displays, and so on that can improve the tactical game.